Breathtaking: How One Family Cycled Around the World for Clean Air and Asthma

by Paula Holmes-Eber, Lorenz Eber

Geared up with two tents, six panniers, two tandem bicycles and one stuffed pink pig, Paula and Lorenz Eber set off from Seattle, Washington to cycle the world with their two daughters, eleven-year old Yvonne, and her thirteen year old sister, Anya. Their to pedal in a complete circle around the world using a carbon free, environmentally friendly way to travel. Their to raise awareness of asthma – a disease that Paula has suffered from her entire life – and the world’s desperate need for clean air. Breathtaking is the exciting and inspiring true story of their adventures. Readers follow the Ebers across Europe, Asia, the South Pacific and North America as they raise their daughters around the globe. School is conducted outdoors on mountaintops. The responsibilities of parenting have been expanded to include hunting for an English copy of the latest Harry Potter book. And family togetherness takes on a new meaning as the Ebers must work together to survive a 100-degree heat wave in Italy, drug smugglers in Russia, a broken foot in New Zealand and a tornado in the U.S. Yet, as the family pedals farther and farther away from home, they realize that the greatest challenge they face is the journey that they must undergo within themselves. The Ebers returned home twenty-four countries and 14,931 km (9,332 miles) later – raising $65,000 for the non-profit organization, World Bike for Breath. They spoke about clean air and asthma to more than 150 newspapers, magazines, and TV stations, including Time for Kids, NPR, and PBS’s Roadtrip Nation. They are the only family on record to complete a full circumnavigation of the world by bicycle.

360 pages, Paperback

Published May 15, 2022

Reviews

[Ren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure exactly what was missing for me here. I can listen to audiobooks while I work, but reading, I do mostly at night and I kept falling asleep and finding my kindle (also asleep) still propped up near my pillow in the morning. This book took me nearly a month to finish. Normally books like this are hard to put down for me. I think I might have enjoyed this bike adventure book more had I not recently read another bike adventure book, Steep Hills & Learning Curves: Cycling Lands’ End to John O’ Groats, that I really enjoyed. I think I went in expecting the same level of humor and interesting stories about challenges, successes and people met along the way. There are some humorous stories here - mostly courtesy of Lorenz (the Japanese bathhouse, for one!) - but overall, I think this just wasn't enough to draw me in and build that connection with the authors. There's some repetition that I found unnecessary.

The reader is brought along with the Holmes-Eber/Eber family on their 16 month journey around the world on two tandem bicycles. The book is written mainly by Paula, the mother, but also has entries by Lorenz, the father, and occasionally by the daughters, Anya (13) and Yvonne (11). I can appreciate the author's efforts to raise awareness for asthma and think promoting biking as a cleaner mode of transportation is fantastic, but their trip felt poorly planned, both in the actual course they took and especially financially - they nearly quit before they finished due to lack of funds. Most of the book covers their time outside the US. Once they return to the US to complete the journey, there isn't much detail - aside from multiple entries about returning a found GPS and a close encounter with a tornado - and it all wraps up rather quickly. I just kept thinking, nothing else interesting happened? How about discussing how biking differs in the various countries? The US is pretty unfriendly to bicycles in general, catering instead to automobiles. In the end, it felt like a lot of missed opportunities. I think I missed how much they ultimately raised for their foundation? I always wonder about charity trips and how much is actually raised for whatever cause the participants are supporting. The family did get several corporate sponsors who gave them the tandems and other supplies and they covered most of their own expenses for the trip through savings and refinancing their home (a whole other issue I had with this). I did enjoy hearing how this trip impacted their girls. Overall, the book wasn't bad, but I ended it wishing for more adventure.

Thanks to Rowman & Littlefield, Falcon Guides and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I requested “Breathtaking” because I enjoy travel-adventure memoirs that involve true adventure and accomplishment. As usual, I figured I would skim over any dull parts. Ha….that didn’t work out! I read every page, every paragraph, every line. There are no parts of this book that you want to miss. The authors make you put you right on those tandems with them, and they write with such great wit and humor that I smiles and laughed out loud. Lorenz’s chapter : Top Ten Ways to Fall Off a Tandem Bicycle was hilarious, especially the morning his one man bikes have flats so he decides to hop on the tandem for his work commute….. if that poor cedar tree could talk it was probably saying, “Nooooooooo”.

The Eber’s bicycling trip around the world was fascinating. Their young daughters did them proud, one even insisting on continuing on with a fractured foot (with medical approval). Paula came up with the idea to raise funds for asthma and completed the ride while dealing with her own asthma. I think some people, like me before reading this, don’t realize how dangerous asthma truly is and how it affects one’s life. A man in Australia told of his brother who died because he had a sudden asthma attack while surfing. The world is full of these sad stories. After finishing this wonderful book I went to the bike4breath website, clicked “how you can help” and made my own donation to IAS. Since I read #Breathtaking for free thanks to #netgalley and #Rowman&Littlefield, #FalconGuides it’s the least I could do.

[Laurie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for adventure books like this - cycling around the world, trekking through a variety of foreign countries, the kindness of strangers, etc. and this book checked all of the boxes for me. Add in the two kids and I was sold. I enjoyed learning about their experiences in different countries and the trials and tribulations that go hand-in-hand with unusual travel. Parts of their trip didn't seem well-thought-out, but that's more a critique of their planning and not the book itself. Overall, an interesting and inspirational read - it almost made me want to plan a biking trip of my own... but not quite.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Breathtaking tells the story of the Eber family's bike ride around the world to raise awareness for asthma. On two tandem bikes, they started in Washington, DC, headed east around the world and ending in Seattle.

Their train trip through Siberia/Mongolia was my favorite part of the book. The mom did not let them get scammed by a porter, they caught the train by mere seconds, and then they had to dispose of drugs that had unknowingly been stashed in their locker to get across the border!

Ultimately, I loved the family's adventurous spirit -- they weren't afraid to bike around the world with two teenagers! I have no desire to bike around the world, but it did show me that traveling with kids should definitely be on the table. Exposing children (and ourselves) to other cultures expands our worldview and creates priceless memories.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this one. The stories inside are wonderfully told and the author brings their experience to life in more ways than one. Very well done.